How I Failed the CISSP

I took the CISSP in 2004 with two friends from work. I failed and they both passed. Here’s why-

In 2001 I took my first IT certification test- Cisco’s CCNA. I had heard this was a difficult exam but didn’t have an opportunity to actually talk to someone who had taken it. Because it was my first cert, I was very scared and nervous. I had absolutely zero confidence in my ability to pass it. Fortunately, I was also leaving the Marine Corps and was even more scared about being unemployed.

I paid a friend cash and he let me use his credit card to order a CCNA book and register or the exam. I studied for about a month, going through what I would describe as an “academic fight or flight” scenario. I was reading the book every chance I got, more than was probably healthy. I could do hexadecimal conversions in my sleep and subnet during breakfast.

When the big day came to take the exam I felt reasonable confident. The exam was schedule to last 90 minutes, I finished in 17. Passed with flying colors. Either the test was much easier than I expected or I simply over studied for it. I assumed the latter and chalked it up as a learning experience.

Over the next few years I took a number of other test. The CCDA, CCNP, CCDP, Network+, and CCSA. Although I passed them all, my scores were going down with each new test. I was putting in just enough effort to be reasonably sure I would pass, without putting in so much effort that I was over studying.

Fast forward to 2003 and the CISSP. The book was bigger than the other exams but I wasn’t worried. I was smart, why should I worry? Don’t get me wrong, I studied hard, usually reading every day. I planned a study schedule so that I would be finished reading the book about a week before I took the exam. My friends were putting in more work than I was, but they didn’t have the experience acing test like I did.

On the day of the test, I finished in a little more than two hours, that’s faster than most people. I was reasonably sure that I passed. Why wouldn’t I? I had never failed before, it just wasn’t something that I thought about. Two week later my two friends got the “Congratulations” e-mail, and I got the “Thank you” e-mail. I was devastated. Not only had I failed, but my two friends both passed. I learned a few things from that experience.

1. Understanding concepts is more important than memorizing facts that you assume will be on the test
2. You can’t over study for the CISSP, the more you study, the more you will be able to apply the concepts
3. Your can’t plan on studying “just enough to pass”

I rescheduled the exam and started over. The healthy dose of embarrassment from failing gave me the motivation to buckle down and really start learning the concepts.

Image courtesy Zach Klein

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